MUMBAI: Kamal Haasan’s upcoming release ‘Vishwaroopam’, which has already garnered its fair share of controversy, is once again embroiled in a fresh strife.
Muslim communities who believe the film will adversely affect “social harmony”, have called for a ban of his ‘Vishwaroopam’. Recently, the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) had demanded that actor-filmmaker Kamal Haasan specially screen his film for them to approve.
MLA and President, Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam, M H Jawahirullah lashes out, “We hear that the script of Kamal’s upcoming film ‘Viswaroopam’ deals with the Afghan war and has many sequences which depict Muslims as mindless fanatics. For the past many years, Muslims have been shown and depicted as culprits in films by many who do so to make a living.”
Produced and directed by Kamal Haasan, ‘Viswaroopam’ is a spy thriller featuring Pooja Kumar and Andrea Jermaiah in the film.
Jawahirullah added, “In order to clear our misgivings, we demand that Kamal should first arrange for a special screening of the film by Muslim representatives and human rights activists. In case certain sequences are objected to by them, those should be deleted in the film’s final version before it hits the screens.”
The filmmaker who has already infuriated theatre owners in southern Indian circuits, when he planned to release the film on 10 January on Direct to Home(DTH) platform along with the big screen release, has not yet commented on the matter.
The TMMK on the other hand plans to seek legal reprieve, if not heard. Jawahirullah confirms, “The screening of the movie will affect social harmony in the state. We plan to meet the Home Secretary, besides moving the Censor Board.”
‘Vishwaroopam’ is now set to release in 500 screens on January 25, 2013 according to Kamal Haasan’s announcement after the whole DTH fiasco led to postponement.
